Only one out of every three young people in South Korea has a positive view of marriage.

According to Statistics Korea on Monday, 36-point-four percent of young people positively considered marriage as of May last year, down 20-point-one percentage points compared to 2012.

The latest positivity rate is 13-point-six percentage points lower than the 50-percent positivity rate for marriage among the entire population.

Only 28 percent of women and 43-point-eight percent of men viewed marriage positively, down 18-point-nine and 22-point-three percentage points, respectively, from a decade earlier.

The largest segment of 33-point-seven percent among those unmarried cited a lack of financing as the reason against tying the knot, followed by 17-point-three percent who did not feel the need, and eleven percent citing the burden of giving birth and childrearing.

Fifty-three-point-five percent of the respondents said it would be alright not to have children even after marriage, continuing a gradual increase from 46-point-four percent in 2018 and 50-point-five percent in 2020.